Chicken isn’t the first thing you think of when you hear or read the words, “Lariat Steakhouse.” If you’re like me, you think of Brandy Alexanders when you hear those words and if you’re like everyone else you think of their delicious sizzling steaks. Well, I checked their menu and there’s several chicken entrees to sample, so let’s get the cluck over there and see if their chicken is finger-lickin’ good!

Here we are at the Lariat, an unlikely stop for a chicken dinner, but I bet it will be a memorable one! As soon as I walked in the doors I was greeted by Dan Kouri who owns the Lariat and is one of the nicest guys in Peoria, He led me to my booth which I specifically requested and you’ll see where that is if you keep on scrolling, scrolling, scrolling!

First we’ll walk by the bright, shiny, lit-up bar and if you sit there long enough it changes colors! I’ve always wondered if that’s actually the bar doing that or has someone put something in my drink? Either way it’s an enjoyable thing to watch! Tables line the opposite wall with a view of the cars going by on Glen Avenue. There’s the entrance to the main dining room.

I love it in here, it’s definitely one of the darkest dining rooms in Peoria and there’s tables and comfortable booths to sit at and enjoy your dinner. I also love all the wood on the walls and ceiling, it gives it a nice warm, rustic feel. I’ve dined in here plenty of times and at the bar as well, but I’ve never eaten in...

This room which is off to the side of the main dining room. It’s really a majestic room with tables lined up in the middle and big comfortable booths on each side of the room. So this is where we’ll be having our chicken dinner and I spy two people in the back of the room who are our special guests for the evening and if you’re a faithful MBIP reader you probably will recognize them, it’s...

My friends Amber and Joe! They were on last week’s chicken adventure and I’m always happy to have them along! Amber is clutching two forks and she’s ready for a clucking good chicken feast!

Here’s our pretty waitress for the evening, Jennay! Jennay told us that in addition to working at the Lariat, she’s also a photographer. Check out her facebook page here, she’s very talented: Sugaree Photography.

I love this painting on the back wall of the traveling waiters. I wonder if they’re any relation to these guys?

One thing that’s always impressive here is the amount of silverware you get with your meal! You get two forks, two knives and four spoons! That would have been handy back in the early ‘80’s!

Just like last week, we decided to have a three course meal and then pick out one of the courses to rate and spotlight. One of my favorite things here is their homemade chicken noodle soup and I was going to have that as one of the chicken courses. Jennay told us that they didn’t have that this evening, but they did have homemade chicken tortilla soup, so I ordered that and it looks and smells fantastic.

Oh my God, this is even better than the chicken noodle soup and it might just be one of the best cups of soup I’ve ever had in my life! The top is a generous layer of melted sharp cheddar cheese and then as you dig in there’s big chunks of juicy chicken, deep fried tortilla strips and tomatoes, onions and rice. It’s creamy, just a little spicy and the combinations of flavors and textures are so tasty and delicious! You could order a bowl of this and with the bread it could be the entire meal. I may never eat their chicken noodle soup again! What a fantastic start to the meal!

And now here’s the rest of our chicken feast expertly presented by Jennay who’s balancing everything with one hand of the massive tray of food! We got the Country Fried Chicken and the Grilled Chicken Sandwich along with a side of fries and an order of the Au-Gratin potatoes. Everything looks fabulous! We started off with the sandwich which they cut into individual little finger sandwiches for the three of us to share, very nice!

The sandwich is a grilled chicken breast (you can also get it breaded and deep-fried) and we got it topped with sautéed mushrooms and melted provolone cheese. We all enjoyed the sandwich, the chicken was perfectly grilled and the mushroom and cheese complimented it nicely. Plus the bun was bakery fresh which always takes a sandwich to a higher level.

For the third course we got an order of the Country Fried Chicken and you get four pieces with a single order! The chicken was crispy and lightly seasoned on the outside and juicy and flavorful inside. Amber enjoyed a piece, but then turned to reading her palm, she was hoping to find instructions on how to slice bread there, but no such luck! You might want to click here, Amber.

I mentioned the Lariat’s Brandy Alexander’s in the opening paragraph and we thought that three glasses of this sweet treat would be the perfect dessert for this week’s chicken dinner and indeed it was! Cheers and thanks to Jennay, Dan and everyone at the Lariat for a wonderful three course chicken dinner! And thanks to Amber and Joe for joining me, it always turns into a party when they are the special guests!

Chicken Rating

Four Dixie Chickens—All three courses were fabulous, but I wanted to rate and spotlight their Chicken Tortilla Soup. It’s homemade, creamy, crunchy and so hearty! I’m definitely coming back for another bowl of it!